Various instruments and methods have been developed for surgical procedures for inserting and engaging vertebral implants in a patient. Such procedures include making incisions and retracting skin and tissue to expose the surgical site to access the implantation location. Such procedures can further include providing an access portal at a vertebral level to be accessed for engagement with an implant.
One problem associated with such procedures is the invasiveness of the surgery required to accommodate insertion of implants to locations deep within the patient's body. In open procedures, the exposure is greatest since the skin, tissue and even bone are excised and retracted to expose the implantation location. The invasiveness further complicates the procedure when multiple vertebral levels are to be accessed through multiple access portals.
There remains a need for instruments and methods that can be employed to reduce the invasiveness and complication of surgical procedures for engaging one or more implants to one or more vertebrae along the spinal column.